In the previous session, we talked about God’s plan to invite us back into relationship with Him. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to become human and live with us and die as the ultimate sacrifice. And Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit, to live inside those of us who choose to believe, to guide us in the path of God's will, and to bring us gifts of joy and abundant life.
Visible Signs of God's Grace
God gave us special ways to receive His invitation into this new relationship, or covenant, with Him, and to experience His living presence in our lives. We call these sacraments. A sacrament is an outward, visible sign of God's inward, spiritual grace. And grace is God's love which rescues us, providing that bridge across the chasm of separation into relationship with Him. Grace is a gift from God which we do not deserve and cannot earn, but is given to us freely from a loving Father to His children.
United Methodists believe in two forms of sacrament: Baptism and Holy Communion. In these sacraments, God uses physical elements (water, bread, the cup) as vehicles for us to acknowledge and receive His grace. God knows that we are physical beings, so He gives us these physical ways to experience His spiritual world.
Baptism
The Christian tradition of baptism comes to us from John the Baptist, who was Jesus' cousin. At the very beginning of Christ's ministry, Matthew 3:11-17, Jesus asks John to baptize him in the river Jordan. Then after his resurrection, Jesus tells his disciples:
"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". (Matthew 29:19 NIV)
Notice how baptism marks both the beginning Christ's own mission, and also the mission he gave his disciples: to spread the Gospel, the news of God's new covenant, throughout the world. The symbol of baptism must be very important somehow.
Baptism is actually an ancient ritual of cleansing. The Jewish tradition, from the Hebrew word mikvah, refers to a bath in flowing water to clean and purify the body. The mikvah was therefore closely related to the observance of Jewish laws for cleanliness, required frequently in order to wash away sin and turn back toward God.
As Christians, we believe that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has cleansed us of our sins once and for all. When we accept God into our lives, marked by our own baptism, we are no longer "unclean" in God's eyes, but purified and ready to meet Him in loving relationship, now and forever more. And we are also connected through baptism to Jesus Christ, baptized into his life and into his death and resurrection.
When you are confirmed, the pastor will ask you to "remember your baptism, and be thankful." He will use water to symbolize the renewal of your baptism. If you were baptized as a baby, you probably cannot actually remember the event of your baptism. But you can remember that you have been baptized, marked by God and cleansed of all judgment of your sin, forever ready to accept God's invitation to walk with Him. It is yet another part of becoming a Christian adult and claiming for yourself both faith in God and the love of God, which was first claimed for you by your family.
Holy Communion
Communion is the second form of sacrament that United Methodists observe. Whereas baptism is performed only once in our lives, communion is a frequent reminder that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are ever present in our lives.
The tradition of communion comes from Jesus himself. In the Gospel according to Luke we read of Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper:
And [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:19-20 NIV)
Jesus describes the bread and the cup as symbols of his death, his sacrifice for our sins. His body is broken and given for us. His blood is poured out for us. And the "new covenant" is of course God's rescue plan, fulfilled by Jesus, across the chasm that separated us from God.
In the Service of Holy Communion we are reminded that “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” We are reminded that our sins have been forgiven and we are invited into relationship with our loving, perfect creator.
Steve Jacobs sjacobs01@earthlink.net
Assignment:
Ask your parents about your baptism. Ask to see pictures, even the video if
it is available. Ask them why you were baptized and what that meant to
them. Be prepared to share your story with your mentor group the next
time we meet.
